Explication of Lady Luncheon Club by Maya Angelou

     This poem by Maya Angelou exclusively uses irony to bring upon the most valid points about sexism and gender roles in society. I picture the ladies described in this poem to be of an upper class, but to also be interested in topics such as world affairs, etc. There is a sense of irony in lines three and four. The Lady Luncheon Club is paying the guest speaker from their "petty cash account" (3), yet the woman checks her golden watch, which the reader should assume is an expensive item. There is a guest speaker at this luncheon, but it is not an established woman, for it is just a man. He is described as someone with false sincerity, and false empathy for the injustices many women have had to face. The man claims to understand the rage of biblical woman such as Eve and Delilah but I am sure most of the women at the Luncheon just laugh at this attempt at empathy.
     For each subject the guest speaker goes over, the reader sees into the minds of the esteemed women at the event. She is thinking petty thoughts like how the coffee is too strong and how the cake is much too sweet. Instead of listening to what could be very reasonable and intelligent thoughts from the guest speaker, the woman is only paying attention to obsolete aspects. I think Maya Angelou is trying to play on the degrading stereotype that women aren't good for anything except taking care of the domestic aspects of life. This is where the irony lies. Obviously, Maya Angelou would not believe these types of stereotypes but rather, she is making fun of them. These are supposed to be women that care about societal issues and worry about sophisticated world problems, but when there is someone right in front of them to inform them, they are just busy worrying about nothingness.

My evolving impressions of Julia from 1984

     When Julia is first introduced as the youthful girl with dark hair, she has an air of mystery surrounding her. One of my first instincts as a reader is that she is a spy from the Party, a trap for Winston to fall into. However, I also see the positive sides of Julia as well. When she tells Winston she loves him, it brings a light to Winston's character that has not been seen in the previous chapters of the book. Julia is somewhat of a confusing character. One second she is the ideal party member, Junior Anti-Sex League and all, and the next second she is committing one of the most damning acts against the Party with Winston. The sexuality she exudes is something that arouses Winston in more ways than one. He evens thinks she might even be a key component in taking down the Party. However, Julia is just not as politically oriented as Winston is.
     In book two chapter four, Julia becomes disengaged and distant from Winston, which leads him to believe she may be sleeping with other men, just like she had confessed she had done in the past to him earlier. Julia and Winston are both violent-minded characters and the dwindling of their relationship makes Winston violently angry. He is definitely aware that their relationship could have them "intentionally stepping nearer to their graves" (140) but he wants nothing more than to be able to walk around town like normal and call her his wife. Julia's rule-breaking hits an all time high as she steals food, makeup, and her and Winston act like two Proles, not two high-ranking members of the Party.
     Julia seems to be one of the only positive aspects of Winston's life. Since she has been around, his varicose ulcer disappeared, his coughing subsided, and he kicked his bad gin habit. It seems as though Winston finds comfort and safety in the extreme danger his relationship with Julia puts him in.

Hamlet and King Lear "Tweets"

King Lear: 2 greedy sisters with an ungood dad ungood edm wants $ from edg and glou #fight eyes lost #luvtriangle plot discovered everyone dies #oops

Hamlet: dad dead ghost says so hamlet crazy in luv with mom and gf O. Many fights poison swords and deaths all around

Prediction of Winston's Future

     Winston seems much too smart for his own good. His intelligence seems to be at a much higher level than the rest of the population. He consistently catches Big Brother and the Party in their constant lies and in their ploys to alter history. Winston continues to write in his diary, even though he blatantly knows it would be punishable by death if he was ever caught. In chapter seven, Winston brainstorms a way to overthrow Big Brother, which would be by provoking the Proles because they make up the largest group of people in Oceania. If Winston tries to execute this plan, I believe the Thought Police could get a hold of him and could make him suffer.
     Winston's thoughts seem to destroy him more than anything. He repeatedly claims he knows the consequences of his rebellious thoughts and actions, yet he still does it regardless. He may be setting himself up for a life of danger and little to no satisfaction. If Winston does end up being confronted by the Thought Police, I wonder if he will give up and give in to the Party, or if he will try to flee the country or do something else to escape the corruption.

1984 Blog-- Ministry of Truth Reflection

     In class, we learned that the Ministry of Truth, also known as minitrue, is the ministry that is in charge of the news, entertainment, education, and fine arts. Basically, this means this group of people is in charge of molding the population's opinions and shaping the future generations thoughts and aspirations. This seems very dangerous especially because of the extreme bias displayed in favor of Big Brother and his Party. In chapter 4, it becomes Winston's job to use an old, complicated speakwrite in order to alter the original documents to make them correspond with the newer, later versions. The level of corruption is high. The Ministries changes are often what ignite the sense of doublethink in the people. The example Winston gives in the book was with the chocolate rations, and how the Ministry of Plenty tried to convince the people they were getting a greater portion, even though the amount of chocolate they received was in fact reduced. The people probably realized this, but chose not to acknowledge it at all. 

     In Oceania, they do not have a solid written constitution like we have in the United States. Here, we abide all our laws by the document written by our Founding Fathers as it sets the foundation for our entire country. But in Oceania, whenever Big Brother feels like it, they can adjust the former laws to their liking. This leaves room for corruption and space for Big Brother and his party to take complete totalitarian control. We learn that the workers in the Ministry of Truth must alter all their works to coincide with the doctrine of the party. This includes sports, astrology, short stories, literature, and even pornography; all to influence Oceania's population about the party. 

     I question the productivity and intelligence level of the people in charge of the Ministry of Truth and the party because of the comparison on page 44. There is a huge difference between Newspeak and Oldspeak. Oldspeak looks like the modern English language we read today, but the Newspeak translation looks exactly like something a young child would type up nonchalantly. I think that this even brings more of a negative connotation towards not only Big Brother and the Party but also the Ministry of Truth. 

Explication of Peace by George Herbert

     Immediately, I noticed that the main point this poem is attempting to bring across is how allusive and hard to achieve the concept of peace truly is. Around the world, diplomats, politicians, and scholars have been tentatively working on a plan for peace, yet it is seemingly impossible. Many people often find it hard to connect with their personal inner peace as well. The author of this poem uses a set of seven different journeys or mini-anecdotes to emphasize how hard peace is to come across.
     The more I read this poem, I believe the author is talking about their efforts to achieve inner peace. The author utilizes the literary technique of enjambment in the first three stanzas to make us think she possibly might come across the peace she is looking for but repeatedly, the answer is no. In the last four stanzas, the author of the poem tells the tale that she was told when she met a reverend while on her personal path to peace. The reverend tells the story of a prince who lived a sweet, wholesome life and after he died, there were twelve stalks of wheat that grew out of his grave. This was a strange occurrence but this wheat spread throughout the earth and was a source of nutrients and peace for the people. In chapter six, a symbol was explained as a very well-known technique in figurative language and in this poem, I believe the wheat was meant to represent peace.
     Earlier, the author referred to a time they were searching for peace in the Crown Imperial, a beautiful, bright flower. A flower that is almost completely opposite of a crop like wheat. The moral that is trying to be brought across is that peace is not going to be found in the most glamorous routes or "the most traveled down paths". Peace is going to be found where it is least expected, in a solution that not many people would choose.

Explication of Metaphors by Sylvia Plath

     Chapter five's topic revolves around all different types of figurative language. This includes similes, metaphors, and how poetry's language is almost always figurative, not literal. The poem Metaphors by Sylvia Plath begins with the line, "I'm a riddle in nine syllables" and the rest of the poem stays true to the word "riddle" as it was a list of what I  first thought were irrelevant metaphors. Plath names off all sorts of things that I believed had no meaning such as, "an elephant, a ponderous horse", "this loaf's big with it's yeasty rising", and "O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!" However, when I googled this poem, I discovered some interesting analyses. There are nine lines in the poem, each line containing nine syllables, to represent the nine months of pregnancy. After I discovered this, the poem began to make much more sense to me. Plath is using what seems to be unrelated metaphors, to describe her experience as a pregnant woman, making these metaphors suddenly make sense.
     The line about the melon and two tendrils creates the image in the reader's mind of a woman with a large, round belly, far along in her pregnancy, with two little legs sticking out. When she talks about a loaf growing bigger with it's yeasty rising, this could come to symbolize a child, growing in the womb, becoming bigger and bigger each day, almost like how a piece of bread dough expands with the presence of yeast. Plath's last line is "Boarded the train there's no getting off". I think she has finally come to the realization that pregnancy leads to parenthood, and that's a journey that there is no escaping from. Usually, pregnancy is discussed in a light that is glamorous, beautiful, and rewarding, but this is not how pregnancy is discussed by Sylvia Plath. She describes her experience as something she takes with a grain of salt, and not favorably but acceptably.